[flargosa]

Why does the amp have two gain switches, one for each channel.  Don't you always want gain to be equal for both left and right channels?

 

[revolink24]

Quote:

Why does the amp have two gain switches, one for each channel.  Don't you always want gain to be equal for both left and right channels?

Yes, but the design philosophy of this amp dictates that the channels be totally independent of each other, as far as I can see.

 

[Paul777]

$650 seems like a fair price and in line with the progression of technology/costs of Rays products over the past few years.  I'm curious how people will find it as compared to the Protector using a SE input.

 

[jc9394]

Guess, this will be my xmas gift to myself.

 

[HelloHell]

Anyone here knows when the pre-order thread will start? And intro-price? Anyone?

 

[nc8000]

I send Ray an e-mail asking about whether it is worth upgrading from a Protector and this is his answer :
 
"D[size=12pt]on't up-grade if you don't use it with fully balanced source & lossless files or CDs".[/size]
 
[size=12pt]Since I use an iPod Classic with 320KB aac files this honest answer has just saved me a fair bit of money. Great to see that he don't just try to go for a quick sale, Ray really rocks.[/size]

 

[decur]

I send Ray an e-mail asking about whether it is worth upgrading from a Protector and this is his answer :


 


"D[size=12pt]on't up-grade if you don't use it with fully balanced source & lossless files or CDs".[/size]


 


[size=12pt]Since I use an iPod Classic with 320KB aac files this honest answer has just saved me a fair bit of money. Great to see that he don't just try to go for a quick sale, Ray really rocks.[/size]

Ray mentioned to me at the new York meet that the sr71b uses different chip set than protector,and that sr71b is warmer.
I spent time going back and forth between protector and sr71b at rocky mountain audio fest last cctober,and my ears tell me that the soundstage was a lot wider with sr71b,and it was also warmer,smoother and cleaner sounding.
I used the same single ended source for both units!(my devilsound v2 dac)

 

[nc8000]

I think I'm going to pretend I didn't see that post

 

[debitsohn]

Quote:

I think I'm going to pretend I didn't see that post

lol, i think you might want to take off your subscription to this thread then. i think as ppl get it, youll be getting ppl posting praise about the amp  A LOT.

 

[tourneychamp23]

The question now is to go with this or alo RX MK2??? Any thoughts from people who heard both? I want to get one of them as a Christmas present to myself

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Quote:

The question now is to go with this or alo RX MK2??? Any thoughts from people who heard both? I want to get one of them as a Christmas present to myself

I have never heard the ALO RX mk2, but I have heard the SR-71B, and it is  amazing. It has about four time the voltage peak to peak in balanced mode, it take balanced inputs, it has an incredible soundstage, do I have to go on? They are two different price brackets as well, with the SR-71 around $650 and the RX mk2 at $395. 

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

The question now is to go with this or alo RX MK2??? Any thoughts from people who heard both? I want to get one of them as a Christmas present to myself

 
fwiw, they come in at rather different price points (~$200 difference). skylab, in his massive thread, has reviewed both the protector and, most recently, the alo (http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/214588/review-portable-amp-roundup-54-portable-amps-reviewed-and-compared-last-update-12-1-10-added-alo-rx-mk-ii). the way he divides his rankings up these days is into 8 levels, without rankings within the levels. there he places the protector (when run balanced) in level 1 (his top level) and the alo in level 3. he states that when run in se mode he still likes it a lot, but not as much as the mustang, which he places in level 2. for this review the phones he used were the HifiMan HE-5 and the DT880/600 phones - he no longer owns iems. draw whatever inferences you like, but keep in mind, as always, ymmv!
the alo really is a portable amp. the sr-71b is something you could use as either a portable or even as a desktop amp as it's capable of running with either a single ended or balanced source and outputting either to se or balanced can. it's very powerful and can do a good job with the hifiman he6, a phone notorious for it's current demands that many full sized headphone amps cannot adequately meet. the only thing currently on the market that's remotely like it, ttbomk, is the ibasso toucan.

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Quote:

Quote:

The question now is to go with this or alo RX MK2??? Any thoughts from people who heard both? I want to get one of them as a Christmas present to myself

 
fwiw, they come in at rather different price points (~$200 difference). skylab, in his massive thread, has reviewed both the protector and, most recently, the alo (http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/214588/review-portable-amp-roundup-54-portable-amps-reviewed-and-compared-last-update-12-1-10-added-alo-rx-mk-ii). the way he divides his rankings up these days is into 8 levels, without rankings within the levels. there he places the protector (when run balanced) in level 1 (his top level) and the alo in level 3. he states that when run in se mode he still likes it a lot, but not as much as the mustang, which he places in level 2. for this review the phones he used were the HifiMan HE-5 and the DT880/600 phones - he no longer owns iems. draw whatever inferences you like, but keep in mind, as always, ymmv!
the alo really is a portable amp. the sr-71b is something you could use as either a portable or even as a desktop amp as it's capable of running with either a single ended or balanced source and outputting either to se or balanced can. it's very powerful and can do a good job with the hifiman he6, a phone notorious for it's current demands that many full sized headphone amps cannot adequately meet. the only thing currently on the market that's remotely like it, ttbomk, is the ibasso toucan.

The Toucan is $229. Go figure...
 
However, they really are two different products. The SR-71B is smaller and more portable than the Toucan, has a slightly better sound, a little more power, an two volume pots that you can adjust together or independently, three gain settings instead of two and probably a few other things I am forgetting. The Toucan is probably the better value, but by no means is the SR-71B put to shame. They are different.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

The Toucan is $229. Go figure...
However, they really are two different products. The SR-71B is smaller and more portable than the Toucan, has a slightly better sound, a little more power, an two volume pots that you can adjust together or independently, three gain settings instead of two and probably a few other things I am forgetting. The Toucan is probably the better value, but by no means is the SR-71B put to shame. They are different.

 
George, have you heard the toucan and been able to compare it to the sr71b?  i've not heard direct listener comparisons of the two as folks have only heard the prototype sr71b and not too many seem to have the toucan yet. your observations may be correct but they seem speculative rather than from any real experience. this is a trend on head-fi which has the potential to lead folks to erroneous conclusions, which they sometimes get vociferous about (and sometimes in quite ugly fashion). i'm ont accusing you of this, but rather asking that you be careful when posting speculative posts, and then make sure that that's clear.
 

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Quote:

Quote:

The Toucan is $229. Go figure...
However, they really are two different products. The SR-71B is smaller and more portable than the Toucan, has a slightly better sound, a little more power, an two volume pots that you can adjust together or independently, three gain settings instead of two and probably a few other things I am forgetting. The Toucan is probably the better value, but by no means is the SR-71B put to shame. They are different.

 
George, have you heard the toucan and been able to compare it to the sr71b?  i've not heard direct listener comparisons of the two as folks have only heard the prototype sr71b and not too many seem to have the toucan yet. your observations may be correct but they seem speculative rather than from any real experience. this is a trend on head-fi which has the potential to lead folks to erroneous conclusions, which they sometimes get vociferous about (and sometimes in quite ugly fashion). i'm ont accusing you of this, but rather asking that you be careful when posting speculative posts, and then make sure that that's clear.
 

Thanks Eric.
 
Just to be clear, I have heard the SR71B, but I have not heard the Ibasso Toucan. My post above is largely speculative, based on what I have read in a smaller part in what I have heard. Hiflight found the Toucan can actually drive the AKG K1000s to a degree, which to my understanding is an impressive feat. I did hear the SR71B driving the HE-6s very well, and there seemed to be no deficiencies in the sound. The Toucan has 26.2 volts of swing peak to peak, and the SR-71B has about 30. I believe the ability of an amp to drive headphones is closely correlated with their peak to peak voltage, but correct me if I am wrong. I was just doing a speculation about the only two fully balanced portables out now, and one or more of my points could be wrong. Heck, someone has already stated the SR-71A doesn't have the airy and open sound and driving ability of the Toucan/Boomslang combo but has more bass impact, and this SR-71B is a lot better than the its predecessor. So it could be that the SR-71B sounds much better than the Toucan, but I was just giving my perspective on the two amps. I don't want to create any confusion, and so will refrain from doing anything like this until I hear the Toucan as well. When the trusted reviews come in, I will be eagerly reading them.